2015 Nba Draft Discussion: Russell, Nance Jr., Brown

I like Alexander, but we need height and length with Randle at the PF spot. That's why I like Towns, Okafor, Kaminsky, and Turner as prospects coming in.

Re- Winslow vs. Mudiay: I go Mudiay right now. Sure Rondo would be nice, but Mudiay is cost controlled and younger. Then with our available cash you go after a wing like Wes Mathews. Mathews is quite a bit cheaper than Rondo.

 

I don't know that Okafor would ever be as great as Gasol defensively though. Offensively I think you're looking at two studs for sure though. There'd be constant pressure on the defense. They're also both very mobile so we'd have a young, versatile 4-5 punch. I'd love it.

 

Yeah just go DraftExpress.com. They've got tons of stuff on the incoming draft class.

I don't know if we have our 2nd rounder this summer.

 

I want to be on the record with this. Give me Towns over Okafor any day. I've watched 3 Duke games and 2 Kentucky games and this breakdown does them both justice. I think Towns will be the better "overall" player in the NBA

 

I understand your point, but I think that's unlikely especially at first for Okafor. I think Okafor is more likely to be a more mobile version of Al Jefferson than Marc Gasol. I haven't seen anything in Okafor to tell me he's got a real knack for defense or rim protection, a real feel for it. Marc Gasol just knows defense on a deep and intuitive level.

That doesn't mean I don't want Okafor, I absolutely do. I just think Marc Gasol is a lofty expectation for a player not known for his defense.

To Towns for a second: I think he might be an even better fit for the team than Okafor if we expect to build with Randle. Towns passing ability, his shot blocking, and his ability to stretch the floor a bit make him a really great fit for Randle. I'd still take Okafor over him right now because Okafor is a better player with a lower floor, but Towns could be a fantastic fit if we end up with the 2nd or 3rd pick.

 

I understand all that. I know Gasol isn't a great one-on-one defender, but a floor general. My point isn't that Okafor will be a bad defender, it's that comparing him to a floor general with a mind for defense is a little unfair. CAN he do it? Maybe, but what evidence is there that Okafor knows defense as well as Marc Gasol does?

The one thing Okafor knows for sure is scoring in the low post. He's fantastic at it. He's better at it now than most Centers in the NBA are. He's an above average rebounder (although I think he could get better). But he's not a floor general defensive captain and I don't know that I see him having that mentality. He COULD if he ended up with the perfect coach to turn him into one, but I think that's unlikely. I could see Bynum in him. Bynum wasn't a great defender, but he sure made that rim hard to find when he wanted to. Bynum also was great at finding his own shot, not as great at finding others. I could definitely see some of that.

In an ideal scenario the Lakers get their Top 5 pick, their 14 and under pick, and then go to town in free agency. I had thought our pick was better protected than that. We'll almost certainly get that pick now. Ideally I think you hope Kaminsky or Cauley-Stein drops to the 20s when we're likely to get our pick, but I really doubt it. The only way we get one of those guys is if we're lucky and the Rockets fall down the standings a ways and end up 7th or 8th in the conference. I don't see that being likely, but in my head I'd love to see us get Winslow, Kaminsky, and sign Rondo or Dragic. I think that immediately turns the franchise around and we have a legit shot at the playoffs next season.

Rondo or Dragic/Clarkson
Bryant/Ellington
Winslow/Young
Randle/Kelly
Davis/Kaminsky/Sacre

Not great, but a rock solid young group of guys to build around. More likely though is that we lose that top selection and end up in the 20s with our pick and the pickings get really slim around there. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson? Andrew/Aaron Harrison? Rashad Vaughn? RJ Hunter? Not bad kids, but certainly not the kind that I want to BUILD around.

 

Well I kind of disagree. Okafor has been in the circuit for a long time now. He's played with the U19 USA team. He's been around the big organizations for a long time. People have seen him coming for years now and he's had a chance to make his skill-set known. If defense was one of his major skills, we'd know by now. Just like we know Cauley-Stein isn't a post player and Mudiay tries to do too much. Okafor has the capacity for good rim protection, sure, but I think the more apt comparison was the one you made before to Hibbert. Hibbert is a good defender, makes his presence felt, but he's no Marc Gasol on that end. Marc controls the defense in a way that other Centers don't. The only two who come close are Bosh and Noah and they are simply better individual defenders, they don't have Marc's control and feel for that end. If Okafor turns out to be Hibbert with more offense, that's a really good player and completely worth the #1 pick.

 

I disagree. Very few players come through and surprise people like that. Randle's ability to handle the ball was something EVERYONE was surprised by and the fact that they were surprised is notable. Most players come through the circuit these days and people know more or less what these players excel at and what they don't. Read any scouting report on this kid and they all come up with two things he is bad at: defensive awareness and explosion. How can a player who is not always defensively aware have the ceiling of Marc Gasol defensively? I don't see it.

That doesn't mean he won't be a good defender, but Marc is the best we've got. It's a lot to expect for a player to have absolutely everything at 19 years old. He's got a lane and that is offensive brilliance around the rim, good rebounding (not great), and average defensive awareness and ability.

The point is Marc Gasol is incredibly aware on that end of the floor. He's a much better captain defensively than an actual one-on-one defender. What about Jahlil have you seen so far to think he can be that player? That's what I'm asking you.

Hibbert? Sure. In fact I think that's a really fair comparison. Hibbert isn't exactly fast or mobile, but he's literally quite large around the rim. He makes it hard to drive effectively. I can see Jahlil doing that. I can see him being a 17/9 guy within his first couple season in the NBA if he goes to the right team. I can see him averaging a block a game. I haven't seen him really show me anything that says "defensive captain" though. I think Towns is closer to that than Okafor is.